Siding ventilator



April 14, 1953 G. E. JARVIE smmc VENTILATOR Filed May 29, 1951 IN V ENTOR. Gasw; Ice/S? ruie By n? 4.

Patented Apr. 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to means for ventilating the space behind thesiding of the outer walls of frame buildings.

The problem presented by moisture entrapped behind the siding of housesand other frame buildings has already been recognized. Such moisture islargely responsible for the blistering and peeling of exterior housepaint applied to the wooden siding. This moisture may find its way intothe outer shell of the house in many different ways: It may be caused byexcessive water vapor produced within the house, or it may result fromthe. defective construction of the walls of the house. Back-draininggutters and leaky flashings around the windows and doors may also let inmoisture.

Because the insulating paper behind the sidings is usually cooler thanthe outside air, the moisture condenses thereon and continues toaccumulate all winter. The rays of the sun heat the outside of the houseand the moisture that has collected behind the siding intermixes withthe tar and creosote in the insulating paper and forms a brownish brine.This liquid eventually is drawn through the pores of the wood of thesiding to form blisters under the outside coating of paint. When theseblisters finally burst the brownish liquid runs out onto the paint,streaking it with ugly stains.

While it has already been proposed to aerate the space behind the sidingby providing channels in the overlapped siding strips, this does notofier a ready solution of the problem after a building has beenconstructed, requiring as it does the removal of the siding strips inorder to provide them with ventilating channels.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide means forventilating the space behind the siding of frame buildings that do notrequire the removal of the siding strips from the building.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for ventilating thespace behind the siding of frame buildings which take the form ofventilating Wedges adapted to be secured, at spacedapart intervals,between the overlapped edges of the siding strips or shingles formingthe outer facing of the building. In the preferred form of the inventionthe ventilating wedges are formed of sheet aluminum bent to providetriangularshaped spurs and having a tongue projecting forwardly-beyondthe spurs for temporarily holdlng the'wedge in place between the sidingstrips.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description of a pre- {erred embodiment of the invention,reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ventilating wedge; I

Figure 2 is a view of a portion of the outside wall of a frame buildingshowing certain of the siding strips held in spaced overlapped relationby means of the ventilating wedges; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through a portion of thewall of Figure 2 showing one of the ventilating wedgespositioned'betweenthe overlapped edges of two adjacent siding strips. I;

The ventilating wedge l illustrated in Figure 1 is made from a blank ofrelatively thin-gaged sheet aluminum, which does not readily corrodewhen exposed to outdoor weather conditions. The initially fiat blank isbent to define a pair of corresponding upright spurs or wings id, ofgenerally right-triangular shape having acute-angled corners, a fiatbridge section lb extending between the bases of the spurs and aspade-shaped tongue to constituting an integral extension of the bridgesection forwardly beyond the spurs. The lateral distance between thespurs la 1 is slightly smaller than the width ofthe tongue immediatelyforwardly of the spurs-that is to say, the spurs are bent up from thebridge section a slight distance inwardly of the width of the tongue-sothat the forward portions of the spurs are curved somewhat inwardly ofthe wedge, as indicated at Id. By virtue of this construction additionalstrength is imparted to the wedge.

The wedge is comparatively smallabout oneand-a-quarter inches long andthree-quarters of an inch wide. The inclined edges of the triangularspurs, which project upwardly from the bridge section aboutfive-sixteenths of an inch, make an angle of approximately 15 degreeswith the plane of the bridge section.

In Figures 2 and 3 are shown a portion of the outside wall of a framebuilding comprising the usual horizontally-extending siding strips 2overlying wooden sheathing 3 and having a layer of tar and creosoteimpregnated insulating paper interposed between the siding and thesheathing.

In using the ventilating wedges, the paint is first removed from theblistering area, indicated by shading in Figure 2, say with a blowtorch. With a wide chisel inserted under the bottom edge of a sidingstrip 2 between the upright studs 5 to which the wall is secured, theedge of the siding strip is pried up and a ventilating wedge I is pushedup, tongue-end first, under the siding strip to hold it open. Then thechisel is removed and the siding strip is tapped down over the wedgecompletely concealing the wedge and leaving a crack or opening of fromone-eighth to one-quarter inch between adjacent strips of siding, asshown in Figure 3. The tongue serves as a pilot for guiding the wedgeinto position and for temporarily holding it in place preliminary totapping the siding down. The spurs bite into the siding and finallyanchor the wedge firmly in place. and prevent it from falling out. "TheWedges maybe inserted spurs-up if desired, instead of spurs-down asshown in Figure 3.

The above operation is repeated on every siding strip and in betweeneach stud throughout the entire blistering area. The openings thusformed by the wedges aerate the space behind the siding, keeping it dry.After sandpapering the siding and a primer coat applied, the area isrepainted.

An advantage of the'ventilating wedges is that :they are easy to apply,requiring no removal of :nails and :onlya hammer and a chisel to install:them. Becausethe wedgesare so small they are unnoticable in thebuilding wall. By virtue "of thefspecial :Sheet aluminum construction ofthe-525 wedgesthey are :light in weight, yet sufii'cie-ntly :strong .tosupport the lapped edges'of the siding strips in spaced relation, whilethe tongue and "spurs prevent the 'wedges from dropping out ,underconditions .;of. expansion and .contractionno 'n'f ,thezsiding.

'f'Iiprefer to make-the wedges of sheet metal because they afford lessobstruction to the circulaition of air and because their tongues aremore readily introducible between the overlapped edges :35

ibui-lding'having siding strips, it will be .appreci- 4 atedthat thewedge may also be used to good-advantage for walls having an outsidefacing of shingles or other lapped materials, and the term siding stripsis intended to include such alternative constructions.

While I have described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that the ventilating wedge may takeother forms than those herein described or suggested without departingfrom the spirit of my inventionras defined the following claims.

I claim:

1. A wedge adapted to be inserted in concealed position between theoverlapped edges of adjacentfsiding elements for ventilating the spacebehind such siding elements, said Wedge comprisingaflat-blank of sheetmetal bent to define two parallel-disposed, triangular-shaped spursections extending perpendicular to the plane of the "blank and havingpointed edges, a, bridge section connecting the spur sections and atongue intergral with gthe :Joridge :section and projecting for-.:wardly;beyond the. spur-sections.

2. A wedge adapted to be inserted din-concealed position between theoverlapped. edges ad- 'jacent elements for ventilating the space behindsuch siding elements, said wedge comprising a iflatblank of sheetaluminum'bent to define ltwo parallel-disposed, triangular-shaped :spursec- .tions extending perpendicular to the plane of :the blank andhaving acute-angled corners, :.a :bridge section connecting thespurvsections-andntongue integral with the bridge sectioniand.zprojecting rforwardly .beyond' the-spur sections, the-spur'secti'onsbeing inwardly bent at. their :ijunctio'n with the:bridge:sectimrtovstrengthen the spurs/actions.

GUSTAVE E. :Rieiierences Cited in. the .1118, .of this. :Dfitent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Number Name Date 526 -,994. Dana- V .001). .2,v 18.941,562,409 Brady Nov. 11,1925 2303,318 Weseman July 2, .1946 2,530,919Taylor. Nov. .21, 19,50

